(FE)
Oil prices steadied on Thursday, with Brent trading near $80 a barrel as higher inventories and record output in the United States overshadowed jitters over global trade disruptions in the Red Sea. Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $79.80 a barrel by 0914 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 4 cents higher at $74.26. “Oil concerns itself with the state of U.S. production this morning and enters the day less buoyant than that of late,” PVM Oil analyst John Evans said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories
rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week to Dec. 15 to 443.7 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.3 million barrel drop.
The EIA said U.S. crude output rose to a record 13.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, up from the previous all-time high of 13.2 million bpd. Both benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday for a third straight session, as investors worried about trade disruptions as major maritime carriers chose to steer clear of the Red Sea route, with longer voyages increasing transport and insurance costs.
